God's Gentle People are working to make it legal again to discriminate against LGBT people in Omaha, which only narrowly approved its workplace protection ordinance in March of this year.

Some churches involved in the effort
put the call to sign the petition more directly than others; approaches
range from reminders to sign petitions after Sunday services to one
pastor's 39-minute sermon urging congregants to demonstrate their faith
by signing their names. But the step into city politics reflects a
similar perspective from some churches: that the ordinance limits their
right to express their Christian views. “I think from time to time the
people of God are called to resist their government at key crossroads,
and I'm convinced that we stand at one of those crossroads right now in
our city,” the Rev. Mark Ashton, lead pastor of Christ Community Church,
said in a sermon last Sunday. “Every signature makes a difference in
the future of our city,” he said later. “I'd encourage every registered
voter who lives within the City of Omaha and follows Jesus to sign your
name.”

Leading the repeal charge is the Nebraska Heritage Coalition, which has this message on their website:

Homosexual activity (not temptation or
preference) is explicitly prohibited as sin in multiple passages in the
Old and New Testament. We do not have the right to change God's moral
law to fit our sexual preferences. We believe that when we admit our
sin, the Lord is faithful to forgive. Whether it is gossip, greed,
violence, hatred, homosexual activity or heterosexual adultery, every
last one of us is guilty. Fortunately, our welcome before God is not
based on our 'religion resume,’ or our ability to live up to a moral
code. It is based on what Jesus did on the cross to pay for our
wrongdoing. He forgives us and begins to change us from the inside out
to become more like him. This is the Good News for men and women, young
and old, rich and poor, clergy and laity, gay people and straight people
alike. Therefore, everyone is welcome to attend our churches. Together,
we can discover God’s forgiveness and the strength to live a life in
obedience to his moral law.

There are 242 churches listed as backers of the repeal. (Tipped by JMG reader Sam)

RELATED: Last month Omaha Archbishop George Lucas issued a letter demanding that Nebraska's Catholics support the repeal petition.

"As an Obama supporter, I remain committed, if deeply demoralized. The
reason for that new ambivalence is not that the reasons for re-electing
him have changed - we desperately need to raise revenues to tackle the
debt, we cannot launch a new Judeo-Christian war against Islam in the
Middle East without igniting an even more ferocious global religious
conflict; it's just wrong to cut off healthcare access for tens of
millions, while ending homecare for countless seniors, while not even
making a dent in the actual budget - because of give-aways to the
extremely rich. And the way the Obama campaign had made those arguments
clearly and consistently and built a brilliant campaign all the way to
the first debate was quite something to behold.

"To be given a gift like the Romney 47 percent video is a rare event in
national politics. To get it in the fall of an election should have made
an Obama victory all but assured. But Obama threw it all back in his
supporters' faces, reacting to their enthusiasm and record donations
with a performance so execrable, so lazy, so feckless, and so vain it
was almost a dare not to vote for him. What he has to do now is so nail
these next two debates, so obliterate Romney in both, that he can claw
his way back to victory. But if he manages just evenly-matched debates,
let alone another Romney win, he's a goner." - Andrew Sullivan.